Facebook vs Messenger
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Connect with friends and discover communities based on your interests. Share moments, explore content, and use AI tools to express yourself creatively. Find unique items and engage with creators.
- Personalized feed
- Marketplace shopping
- AI-powered content creation
- Reels and stories
- Community groups
- Direct messaging
Read full descriptionHide full description
Where real people propel your curiosity. Whether you’re thrifting gear, showing reels to that group who gets it, or sharing laughs over fun images reimagined by AI, Facebook helps you make things happen like no other social network. Explore and expand your interests: * Shop Marketplace for hidden gems and take your hobbies to the next level * Personalize your Feed to see more of what you like, less of what you don’t * Ask Meta AI for information and get answers instantly * Drive into reels that reflect the things you're interested in * Search Facebook on any topic and get more interactive results Connect with people and communities: * Join groups to learn tips from real people who’ve been there, done that * Get inspired by creators, or catch up with Friends * Add new Friends to your world, but also decide how closely to keep up with them * Privately message relatable posts that only your BFF will get or that reels trend everyone’s talking about Share your world: * Use generative AI to create custom stickers and images to delight friends * Customize your profile to choose how you show up and who sees your posts * Effortlessly create reels from trending templates, or showcase your creativity with a full suite of editing tools * Capture moments on the fly with stories Some features may not be available in your country or region. Terms & Policies: https://www.facebook.com/policies_center Privacy Policy: https://www.facebook.com/privacy Learn how we're working to help keep our communities safe across Meta technologies at the Meta Safety Center: https://about.meta.com/actions/safety
Messenger
Connect with friends and family through text, audio, and video calls. Share photos, videos, and large files, and express yourself with custom themes and animated content. Features an AI assistant for help and support.
- Text, audio, and video calls
- High-definition photo sharing
- Shared photo albums
- QR code connections
- Large file sharing (up to 100MB)
- Edit and unsend messages
- Disappearing messages
- AI assistant
Read full descriptionHide full description
Messenger is a free messaging app that helps you connect with anyone, anywhere. Stay in touch with your friends and family, explore your interests with people like you, build your community, and share your vibe beyond words, all in one app. CHAT AND CALL ANYONE, ANYWHERE Find and connect with your friends and family on Facebook and Messenger, no phone number needed. GET INSTANT ANSWERS FROM YOUR AI ASSISTANT* Meta AI is your assistant that can answer any questions, give you advice, help with homework, and more. SEND YOUR PHOTOS IN HIGH DEFINITION Send and receive clearer, crisper picture of your favorite moments with Messenger. CREATE SHARED ALBUMS From a recent summer vacation to your grandma’s 80th birthday, create albums of photos and videos to share, organize and reminisce over important moments in your group chats. EASILY ADD NEW CONNECTIONS WITH QR CODES Connect with people you meet in real life by scanning their Messenger QR code or sharing yours via a link. SHARE LARGE FILES DIRECTLY IN CHAT Whether it’s a Word, PDF, or Excel doc, you can send large files up to 100MB right inside of Messenger. EDIT AND UNSEND MESSAGES Hit send too soon? You can edit the message up to 15 minutes after sending DISAPPEARING MESSAGES Some things aren’t meant to last forever. Choose how long your end-to-end encrypted chats stick around after they’ve been read. COME TOGETHER WITH YOUR COMMUNITIES Meaningfully connect with people like you from your school, neighborhood, and interest groups. GET IN YOUR FAVORITE CREATORS’ INNER CIRCLE Stay in the know with creators by joining their broadcast channels for authentic and casual content. UNLEASH YOUR IMAGINATION W/ META AI* Tap into your go-to creative partner to create, edit, animate images and more. CAPTURE EVERYDAY MOMENTS ON STORIES Highlight moments of your day using photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours in Stories. DROP A NOTE WITH YOUR THOUGHTS Stay connected with your friends by sharing quick updates that disappear after 24 hours. BRING YOUR VIBE TO YOUR CHATS Sometimes words just don’t cut it. Tap into more ways to express yourself with animated stickers, GIFs, reactions and more. SET THE MOOD OF YOUR CHAT WITH THEMES Customize your chat with a large and constantly evolving list of themes featuring popular artists, holidays, and more. *Meta AI is available in select languages and countries only, with more coming soon.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Messenger at 66% against Facebook's 40%. Messenger also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.5). Facebook's advantage is chart position (#2 vs #8). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Facebook sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month and Messenger sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Messenger holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 28M and 14M respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 40% of Facebook's written reviews are positive against 66% of Messenger's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Messenger | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (28M ratings) | 4.7 (14M ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 40.2% of reviews | 66.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 28M — better | 14M |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #2 — better | #8 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 484 MB | 255 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Meta Platforms, Inc. | Meta Platforms, Inc. |
Customer experience
Messenger
User reviews
What we love
- 💡 Helpful for staying connected with family and friends
- 👍 Useful for business and advertising
- 👍 Great for sharing photos and memories
- 👍 Convenient marketplace for buying and selling items
Room to improve
- 🐛 Glitchy and buggy app with frequent issues
- 🤖 Overly aggressive content moderation and censorship
- 🤖 Biased and inconsistent enforcement of community guidelines
- 🤖 Lack of effective customer support
- 💸 Overrun with scams and fraudulent activity
Messenger
From 14M App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 📱 Useful for staying connected with friends and family
- 🗣️ Enables easy communication through text, voice, and video
- 💬 Convenient group chat features
- 🌐 Works across multiple devices and platforms
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔒 Privacy and security concerns
- 🔄 Unnecessary updates that remove useful features
- 📤 Issues with message delivery and notifications
- 🗂️ Cluttered interface and poor organization of chats
Bugs and requests
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent app crashes and login issues
- Inability to edit or delete old posts and comments
- Marketplace listings getting incorrectly flagged or removed
- Inconsistent behavior between mobile app and web version
Requested features
4 requests- Improved customer support and appeal process
- More transparency and consistency in content moderation
- Better tools for managing and organizing content
- Customizable feed and notification settings
Messenger
Reported bugs
4 issues- Unable to log in or access account
- Messages failing to send or receive
- Unexpected app crashes and freezes
- Syncing issues between devices
Requested features
4 requests- Add option to delete or unsend messages
- Improve search functionality for chat history
- Introduce customizable notification settings
- Bring back old features like emoji reactions and location sharing
In-app purchases
- Supporter$2.491 Month
- Supporter$4.991 Month
- 99 Stars$0.99
- 45 Stars$0.99
- 95 Stars$1.99
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- 145 Stars$2.99
- 250 Stars$4.99
- 310 Stars$5.99
- 530 Stars$9.99
- 1200 Stars$19.99
Messenger
- Avatar Item$0.99
- Avatar Item$1.99
- Avatar Item$2.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Avatar Item$3.99
- Avatar Item$4.99
- Avatar Item$6.99
- Avatar Item$7.99
- Avatar Item$8.99
- Avatar Item$9.99
- Avatar Item$10.99







